


Hope You Survive The Experience

by pocketmumbles (livelikejack)



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Alternate Universe - X-Men Fusion, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-31
Updated: 2015-12-31
Packaged: 2018-05-10 15:33:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5591614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/livelikejack/pseuds/pocketmumbles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Maybe this time next year, I’ll be able to make it snow for us to make a real snowman.”</p><p>She’s joking, of course – as if she could really become that powerful in a single year – but Scott’s nod is completely serious. “I bet you will,” he says, without a hint of mockery in his voice. “You’re way cooler than you let on, Kira Yukimura.”</p><p>Her face abruptly heats. He knows her full name. “Well, if the ice guy says I’m cool, then I guess it must be true.”</p><p>Scott laughs.</p><p>
  <em>(Or, a superpowers AU where they're basically the X-Men in training, Kira is the new girl at the Institute, and Scott makes cool things out of ice.)</em>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hope You Survive The Experience

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on [Tumblr](http://pocketlass.tumblr.com/post/136069377681/december-drabble-not-so-advent-calendar-day-27) for the prompt _scira + snow fight_. ...I may have deviated from the prompt more than a little bit.
> 
> AU where no one is a werecreature but they all have superpowers and go to boarding school at the Hale Institute for Gifted Youngsters, and are essentially the X-Men. Or New Mutants, I guess, since they're mostly students and don't actively fight the bad guys. Fic title is a tagline that the X-Men comics use whenever a new mutant joins the team.

“I’m Kira. I’m new.”

She repeats the words over and over throughout her first days at the Hale Institute for Gifted Youngsters. Professor Deaton hadn’t made her stand up at the front of the class, at least, and she’s grateful. Students seem to flit in and out of classes at the beginning of the semester, disappearing from Kira’s Biology class and reappearing in the afternoon English section, shuttled from one PE section to another, or pulled out of classes entirely and walked to the elevators that lead to the mysterious subbasement. She supposes that it makes sense not to bother trying to introduce a new student, especially at a close-knit boarding school where they’ll inevitably meet everyone, anyway.

Still, Kira can’t quite shake the feeling that she’s invisible. Not literally invisible, like Isaac Lahey – Kira had accidentally sat on him the first day of History, and everyone had laughed as she mumbled an apology and darted for a seat at the back – but just…not exactly noticed. Certainly unmemorable. So she reintroduces herself over and over, and stops hoping that this time will be the one to stick.

“I’m Kira. I’m new,” to gym teacher Hale who always seems baffled by her name on his class roster.

“I’m Kira. I’m new,” to student teacher Lydia Martin who hedges around calling her by name in an attempt to hide that she doesn’t actually know it.

“I’m Kira. I’m new,” to her roommate Erica. Then to her new roommate Cora, after Erica leaves late one night after only two weeks at the Institute. Then to her new new roommate Malia, after Cora gets into a fight with gym teacher Hale and moves off-campus. Kira would worry that she’s some sort of roommate bad luck charm, but they’ve all watched students leave in the Institute’s fancy town car or even fancier private jet.

Besides, Malia ends up staying through the entire semester. Roommate bad luck charm officially broken, and Malia seems genuinely earnest to get to know Kira. It’s a little weird, though, to watch people greet Malia with enthusiasm that stalls into a blank confusion when they see Kira. “I’m Kira. I’m new,” she says, and they relax.

She doesn’t mind it. She’s used to it. It makes sense; most of her classmates have been at the Institute for years. She’s the weird kid who didn’t transfer in until halfway through high school. And Malia – she’s bright and cheerful and makes friends easily. Plus, her powers have a pretty weird origin story, so that always adds interest. Kira is just a run-of-the-mill late bloomer.

Of course, being a late bloomer means that her powers are simultaneously pathetically weak and completely beyond her control. The “weak” part doesn’t bother her; it’s the “no control” part that’s the issue. Because as long as she can’t control her powers, she can’t leave the Institute’s grounds…and she can’t go home.

Mom and Dad are visiting for Christmas, which is already more than most of the students get. Kira knows that she is one of the lucky ones, with parents who love and support her and even moved across the country to stay a part of her life. She’s grateful, so grateful, but…she misses New York. She misses her old house, she misses her old neighborhood, she misses her old school, and above all, she misses her friends.

Not that she can really call them that, anymore. It gets tiring to hear, “Who are you?” over and over at the Institute, but it’s far better than, “Oh, that’s Hurricane Kira. The one who blew the roof off the gym, remember her?” It had been a mild winter storm, for one, and only a _corner_ of the roof had cracked, for another, but…well.

“You’re not cold?”

She looks up, blinking as Scott McCall brushes snow off the bench and sits down next to her. “Hi,” he adds, a little sheepishly.

“Hi,” she says automatically. He smiles, benign and a little blank, so she continues, “I’m K-”

“Kira. You’re new,” Scott finishes. The corners of his eyes crinkle. “I’m Scott. I’m old.” He holds up his math textbook. “You ready for Lydia’s final tomorrow?”

“Uh.” She glances down at the half-eaten sandwich in her hand, then swallows. “Yeah, I guess.”

Scott nods. “Should be fine as long as you study your notes. Don’t sweat it if you don’t know the bonus questions, though; she always throws a curveball with those. Are you sure you’re not cold?”

“Uh.” She watches Scott take off his jacket – thin, denim, definitely not proper attire for even a mild snowfall – and hold it out to her. His hands are bare. “Thanks, but I’m good. I’m from New York.”

“No way!” Scott’s eyes widen, and he leans forward in excitement. “I’ve always wanted to see Times Square, with the stairs and all the stores. Is it as cool as it looks in all the pictures?” His smile fades a little. “It’s probably really overrated, huh.”

Extremely. “A little bit,” she says. “But, uh, Central Park is just as great as everyone says. It’s so big, so there’s something for everyone.”

He perks up again. “Cool. I hope I can see it one day.” He pulls a sandwich out of his jacket and starts unwrapping it. “This winter’s probably really lame for you, then, huh?”

Kira glances at the snow on the ground, so thin and light that she knows it will be gone by morning. “It’s not that bad,” she says. “Besides, it’s still early in the season.” Scott nods, chewing thoughtfully, and Kira blurts, “Aren’t _you_ cold?”

Scott stares at her in confusion, then his face clears when he notices the jacket still lying on the bench. “Oh! No. No, I don’t really get cold easily.” He clenches his hand in a fist, then opens it to reveal a perfectly round ball of ice. “Powers would really suck if I did.”

“Whoa.” She pokes the ice carefully, watching it roll around Scott’s palm. “That’s so cool.”

“Yeah?” Scott grins, scooting closer on the bench. He raises his other hand over the ice. “Watch this.”

A smaller ball of ice forms atop the first one. Then another, even smaller. Scott’s eyes narrow in concentration, and a tiny cylinder builds on top – a hat, a top hat complete with a curved brim. A cone juts out from the ball, smaller than the tip of Kira’s pinky, and then a thin pipe appears just below it. Her mouth falls open. “A snowman!”

“Yeah,” Scott says eagerly. He sounds a little out of breath, and his cheeks are a little red from exertion – Kira can’t even guess how much control it took to manipulate his powers on such a fine scale – but he holds it out with a bright grin. “Well, an…ice…man…I guess. Since there isn’t enough snow for us to make a real one.”

 _For_ us _to make a real one_. Scott says it easily, as if there isn’t a doubt in his mind that they would make a snowman together – as if they’re already friends. Kira barely knows him, had never even thought that he knew her as anyone but the quiet girl who sat behind him in History class, but…there’s something about him that seems so _warm_.

She accepts the ice-snowman carefully, bending closer to marvel at the details. Scott had even carved tiny eyeholes, and a crooked curve of bumps for an ice-coal smile. She smiles back, tapping its spindly arm with her finger – then gasps when it abruptly melts under her touch. “Oh, no,” she says, belatedly noticing the puddle forming in her palm. “It’s melting. My hands are too warm.”

“Well, that’s what ice does,” Scott says reasonably.

“But you worked so hard on it, and now it’s…”

Scott’s hand closes over hers, soft and surprisingly warm. Icy water spills through her fingers. “That’s the thing about ice,” he says, shrugging. “It melts.”

He wipes her hands with the corner of his jacket. They feel curiously cold when he pulls away. “Thank you,” Kira says. She ducks her head. “I wish I could give you something cool with my powers, but I’m-”

“New,” Scott finishes. He smiles. “We all start somewhere. Oh man, you should’ve seen me a year ago. I couldn’t even freeze an ice cube tray. Braeden had to take over my training because I couldn’t cut it on Derek’s course.”

Right. Scott has asthma. She’s seen the inhaler poking out of his backpack, and she never sees him in any of the PE sections. (She’s seen him come out of the subbasement elevator more than a few times, though.) “So you can’t be too harsh on yourself in the beginning,” Scott continues, “because you never know how much you’ll grow once you start getting the hang of things.”

A smile tugs at the corners of her mouth. “Maybe this time next year, I’ll be able to make it snow for us to make a real snowman.”

She’s joking, of course – as if she could really become that powerful in a single year – but Scott’s nod is completely serious. “I bet you will,” he says, without a hint of mockery in his voice. “You’re way cooler than you let on, Kira Yukimura.”

Her face abruptly heats. He knows her full name. “Well, if the ice guy says I’m cool, then I guess it must be true.”

Scott laughs. “Ice guy?”

“Mm-hmm. Ice Guy Scott McCall. It’ll catch on, just you wait.” Kira nudges him teasingly, then holds out her bag of chips. “Do you like Doritos?”

“Oh, sweet!” He grabs a chip eagerly. “Nacho Cheese is my favorite, but I always end up with Cool Ranch.”

Kira snorts. “Because they’re _cool?_ ”

“No, just, everyone likes Nacho Cheese,” Scott says, laughing. “And I usually get to lunch late, so they’re usually gone by then.”

“Oh,” Kira says. “Well, actually, I _love_ Cool Ranch, and Professor Morrell always lets us out early for lunch. We could trade.”

Scott beams. “Yeah?”

She helps herself to his bag of Cool Ranch Doritos. “Yeah.”

 

* * *

 

“Shit. Shit, shit, shit.”

Scott frowns at the fountain in front of him. A minute ago, it had been lively and splashing water out of the statue’s vase; now, it’s frozen completely solid. He sighs and trudges over to the control panel to switch off the water. Last time he’d forgotten, and Derek hadn’t been happy with him. …And then he’d taken advantage of the flooded grounds to build a new training course, and then _no one_ was happy with Scott. Lydia insists that it’s “completely juvenile reverse favoritism,” but sometimes Scott isn’t sure if Derek just hates him.

“Wow! That’s so cool!”

He turns as Kira trots up the path, staring at the fountain with a bright smile. “You even got all the splashes and everything, wow.” She grins at Scott. “You’re so good with your powers.”

“Uh, well.” He twists his hands awkwardly. “It was kind of an accident.”

“Oh, cool.” Kira shrugs agreeably. She tilts her head. “Hey, I thought it’s movie night. How come you were still out here?”

He definitely wasn’t waiting for Kira to come back from visiting her parents in town. That would just be pathetic. “Hey!” he says, instead, pointing at her jacket. “You got a new jacket!”

Kira beams, setting down her bag to show off her black leather jacket. “Courtesy of Derek Hale, of course. Apparently his mom is friends with my mom’s friend, so he showed up at lunch today,” she adds, rolling her eyes a little. “Kind of a ‘congratulations for making it through evaluations with Professor Deaton’ gift, I think. But anyway, I’m finally cleared for off-campus trips!”

“Congratulations!” Scott says, grinning. “See, you’re getting the hang of things around here already.” He hesitates, then adds, “And you don’t actually have to wear the jacket if you don’t want to.”

“Of course I want to. Derek _gave_ this to me,” Kira says. Her face scrunches in confusion. “Do people not like him or something? Is it because he’s the founder’s grandson? I mean, he can’t really help that.”

“No, he’s just…” Scott shrugs. “He can be a little abrasive, sometimes. It’s not a big deal. He’s fine. Way better instructor than he was last year.”

“That’s good.” Kira sits on the edge of the fountain. Scott quickly sits next to her. “He’s always been nice to me.”

“I thought he kept forgetting your name until, like, a month ago.”

“Actually, it turns out he knew my name the whole time,” Kira says, grinning. “He was just confused why I kept getting put in his PE section instead of with Braeden. He’s really not so bad once you actually talk to him.”

“Oh.” Scott stares down at his hands and tries to ignore the sinking in his stomach. Derek Hale is cooler, and older, and better-looking, and has _way_ cooler powers with way more control over them than Scott. Of course Kira likes him. “Cool.”

“Yeah, um, actually.” Kira presses her lips together. “You have private training, right? In the subbasement?”

With Derek, most of the time. Scott is getting pretty tired of Derek kicking his ass three times a week before lunch. “Yeah,” he mutters, then finally notices the hunch in Kira’s shoulders. “Why? Did Derek say something?”

“Professor Deaton,” Kira says. Oh. “He said they want me to start private training with Allison Argent next semester.”

“Allison’s great,” he says automatically. Kira stares at her knees, and Scott inches closer. “It’s nothing bad, really. It’s just…think of it like an accelerated course.”

“Accelerated,” Kira repeats.

Panic lingers on the edge of her voice. Scott slowly reaches over and wraps their hands together. “It just means your powers are developing at a different pace than most students here,” he says. “I mean, I’ve been stuck in the subbasement practically since I got here, and it’s not like I’m super powerful or anything.”

“Yeah, but your control is _amazing_.”

Scott twists around to look at the frozen fountain behind them. “Yeah,” he says dryly, “I can really see that.”

Kira laughs a little. “Oh, that reminds me,” she says, brightening. “Boyd told me about the ice rink in town. A bunch of us are going next week, before it closes for the season. You wanna come?”

“Uh.” Scott ducks his head. “I’m, uh…not really the best skater.”

He braces himself for the inevitable laughter. _But you make ice_. “Oh,” Kira says, and sounds a little confused. “No one taught you how to skate?”

“Allison tried to, last year,” Scott says, wincing at the memory. _But you make ice_. He can travel on his own ice just fine, taught himself to slide along it like he used to skateboard…but blades are different. He was always a terrible roller skater. “It…didn’t go well.”

“Well, that just means you’re new at it,” Kira says. “Here, I can teach you.”

“You don’t have t…” He trails off as Kira tugs a pair of skates out of her bag. “…you have skates?”

“My parents brought them,” Kira says, shrugging sheepishly. “I’m…kind of into winter sports.”

“I always thought curling was pretty cool,” Scott says.

Kira laughs. “Okay,” she says, and holds out a skate. “Now, replicate this on your shoes. Make sure it’s nice and sharp.”

“Wha-” Scott blinks at her, then at the skate, then at the grounds around them. “Right now?”

“Sure, why not?” Kira says. She jerks her thumb at the fountain. “We’ve got ice to skate on, and everyone’s at movie night so no one’ll be around to see you fall.” She beams at him. “Think of it as an accelerated course.”

He laughs. Kira hands over the skate, lacing up the other one while Scott carefully recreates the blades on his shoes. “Okay, now what?”

“Stand up on the grass.” Kira slips on the other skate and steps into the fountain. “Okay, now hold onto me and step in – slowly.”

“Um.” He takes her hands gingerly, already feeling his ankle wobble as he sets one foot on the ice. “I don’t know if this is a good i-”

His foot slips. Kira grabs his waist as he pitches forward. “There, you’re getting the hang of it,” she says as he regains his footing. “Just lean all of your weight on me. Don’t be afraid to bend your knees.”

Somehow, Kira manages to get Scott onto the ice and into motion, towing him along while she skates backwards around the fountain. “Wow,” he says. “You’re really good at this.”

“I hope so,” Kira says. She grins, somewhat bashfully. “I used to play hockey, back in New York.”

“Whoa. That is so cool,” Scott breathes. He skates along after her, trying to mimic her movements. “Hey, that’s kind of like lacrosse, right? We have a little tournament here every spring. I bet you’d be really good at it.”

“Hm, maybe,” Kira says. “Do you play?”

“Yeah, but I’m terrible at it.”

“Well, then in that case, I definitely want to be on your team so we can be terrible together,” Kira says. “See, you’re getting the hang of this already.”

“But I’m not even-” Scott begins, then notices Kira’s outstretched hands several inches away from his own. “…Oh. Oh!”

Kira beams at him. Scott starts to beam back, then abruptly pitches forward. They go down in a pile of limbs, Kira almost dragging the statue with them as she grabs it for balance. “Sorry,” Scott mumbles. “I didn’t mean to take you down with me.”

“I used to play _hockey_ , Scott. This is nothing,” Kira says. She brushes ice from his sleeve. “Besides, you’ll never learn if you don’t fall.”

“Well, then, I’m gonna learn a lot,” Scott quips. He traces a skid on the ice. “Thanks for helping me. You don’t have to keep wasting your time, though-”

“They voted on 300 for movie night,” Kira says. “I’m not really a big fan of that movie. I’d much rather skate.”

He glances down at his feet. “Not sure if this really counts as skating.”

“We all start somewhere,” Kira says. She hops to her feet. “Ready to try again?”

She holds out her hand with a bright smile. Scott takes it and lets her pull him up.

 

* * *

 

A droplet lands on Kira’s head. Then another, and another, until everyone pauses on the makeshift lacrosse pitch to stare up at the darkening sky. “Game over, guys,” Brett says, catching the ball from Danny. “We should pack up before it really starts pouring.”

“I could…” Kira volunteers, raising her hand hesitantly. “I mean, I _think_ I could…”

Parrish shakes his head. “Not when the team’s away,” he says. “Those clouds look pretty thick; don’t want you getting hurt. Besides, it’s been a dry summer. We could use the rain.” He claps Kira on the shoulder. “Storms aren’t always a bad thing, you know.”

She helps Boyd pack up the equipment bags, lingering on the field as the others troop towards the building. “Haven’t had a proper storm in a while,” Malia says, shifting back into her human form as she sidles up to Kira. “Summers get pretty dry around here, apparently.”

“Yeah.” Kira slips out of her jacket, watching raindrops splatter across her bare arms. “I think I’m gonna stay out a little longer.”

“Want some company?” Malia asks, even as she shivers from chilly rain on bare skin.

Kira holds out her jacket, but Malia shakes her head. She’s never been very fond clothes, prefers to run around in her coyote form as much as possible. “I’m good,” Kira says. “I just…kind of like thunderstorms.”

Lightning flashes overhead, and Kira barely has time to count before thunder booms through the air. “I’ll leave you to it, then,” Malia says. “I’m gonna head in. You want me to take your jacket?”

“Sure, thanks.” Malia shifts back to her coyote form, takes the jacket carefully in her mouth, then jogs for the doors.

Kira walks to the center of the field, tilting her head back to let the rain bathe her face. She’s always loved thunderstorms, even as child. There’s something about the rain washing over her skin, the heavy air wrapping around her like a security blanket. It’s calming, somehow, grounding and balancing and setting her at such ease…like being in the eye of a hurricane. Or in her case, she supposes, _being_ the eye of the hurricane.

Ever since she discovered her powers, she’s worried about being able to control them. Don’t make waves, don’t get upset, don’t lose control. Sure, her powers are too weak to move the clouds, let alone create a whirlwind, but…she’d caused a _storm_. Her powers had manifested in an inconvenient disaster, like everyone’s powers tended to, and she’d caused a _storm_. There had been power outages, and torn-up trees, and she’d cracked the gym’s roof, and…the point is, Kira is terrified of losing control. Even if the only threat is the potential of her power, rather than anything she can actually do.

But in a thunderstorm…she grins up at the darkened sky, lets her arms spread wide and her eyes slide shut. She didn’t create the storm, so she doesn’t need to worry about it. And standing amidst the chaos, the howling wind and rolling thunder and rain soaking her down to the bone…she feels powerful. More than that – she feels at _home_. Her heart pounds in time with thunderclaps, and the wind cradles her close and comforting. When she finally opens her eyes, all she can see is gray sky, misty clouds hanging just beyond the tips of her fingers, rain dripping from the tips of her shoes to fall to the blurry ground far below.

Kira gasps. Her arms drop, and she immediately plummets through the sky. The wind spins her up and around until she catches herself again, centers herself within the storm. She lets out a slow breath as her feet slowly touch down on the roof. She stumbles on wobbly legs, jittery with shock and nerves and unflagging excitement, and peers at the dark field five stories below her.

She flew.

She _flew_.

Rain patters around her, soft and cold and _bright_ , somehow. Kira looks up at the sky, lightning crackling through her bones, then – “Screw it!” she shouts, and takes a running leap off the roof. The ground rushes towards her, but she reaches out, reaches towards that _something_ inside her that makes so much sense – and soars.

She spirals through the air – _flies_ , she’s _flying_ – weaving through the rain and reaching out to touch every treetop that she passes. Thunder booms in time with her heaving breaths, lightning crackling down just beyond the tips of her fingers. She should be scared, Kira thinks dimly, but she can’t find it in herself when she’s having so much _fun_.

A distant roar reaches her ears, and Kira turns to watch the Tri-Jet disappear into the hangar beneath the Institute. The team is back, then. Scott is still new to it all, doesn’t have a post-mission routine like the others do, but if Kira had to guess…he’d probably settle in his room for the rest of the evening. She hovers in front of the dormitory wing, trying to remember which window belongs to Scott and Isaac’s room. A light flicks on the fourth floor, and Kira recognizes the band posters on the far wall. She taps lightly on the window to get Scott’s attention, and grins when his mouth falls open.

Scott throws open the window. “You’re _flying_ ,” he says, eyes wide with – delight. He sounds delighted, thrilled, ecstatic – not disbelieving, and not even surprised. Kira loves him so much.

Oh.

She falters as her thoughts replay in her mind. _Oh._ Scott quickly grabs her through the window, and the shock of his warm hands brings her back to her center. “Sorry,” Scott says. “Did I mess you up? I didn’t mean to – I just – you’re _flying!_ ”

“No, sorry, that was me,” Kira says. She glances around herself, bobbing slightly in place with the wind wrapping around her like a cocoon. “I think, technically, right now I’m hovering, not flying.”

 _“Hovering,”_ Scott repeats, rolling his eyes a little. “Who cares? You’re – _hovering!_ ”

“Yeah.” Kira bites her lip, abruptly self-conscious. “It’s new. I know,” she adds quickly, “I’ll have to meet with Professor Deaton tomorrow, probably’ll get a whole new training schedule.”

“Maybe we’ll start training together,” Scott says. “There isn’t a proper flier on the team. I mean, Allison can TK herself into the air, but that’s kinda different-”

“I don’t think I’m on _that_ level yet,” Kira says, laughing. Scott hasn’t let go of her yet, and it’s making her giddy. “So, how was it saving the world?”

Scott ducks his head. “We were just meeting with the Chimeras,” he says, suddenly bashful. “They’re just changing leadership, asked us to help keep the peace. All I did was stand around and talk. Hardly saving the world.”

“I think you’re doing more than you give yourself credit for,” Kira says. She squeezes his hands. “They asked you to join the team for a reason.”

“To build ice bridges so we can climb tall buildings,” Scott says, nodding promptly.

_“Scott.”_

He laughs. “I know it _sounds_ flashy being on the team, but really, that’s all I do.” He backs into the room a little. “You wanna come in? Or are you thinking of flying around the storm a little more?”

His hands are so warm around hers, despite the rain pouring around them. Kira shivers. “Inside sounds nice,” she says, and steps carefully through the window. She stares at the soaked floor around her, and the puddle rapidly growing beneath her. “Oh, jeez. I got rain everywhere, I’m so sorry.”

“Not a problem,” Scott says, shutting the window with a shrug. He glances at the floor, then at Isaac’s belongings on the far side of the room. “Yeah, Isaac’ll totally be fine with it. So…how exactly did you figure out you could _fly?_ ”

“I don’t know,” Kira says. Scott had let go of one hand to close the window, but the other is still wrapped tight around hers. “I just…did, I guess.”

It’s a terrible explanation, but Scott nods thoughtfully. “The storm, right?” he says. “Put you in your element. It’s like how I always feel stronger in the winter – everything just makes more sense.”

“Yeah, exactly,” Kira says. “It just felt… _right_.”

“Yeah,” Scott says. His gaze drops to their joined hands, and a quiet smile tugs at his mouth. “Exactly.”

She’s been holding back for long enough. Sometimes it’s worth throwing yourself into the storm just to see what happens. _Screw it_ , Kira thinks, and presses her lips to Scott’s.

A chill runs down her spine. Scott’s hand settles warm and tingling at the small of her back, and she opens her eyes to see him beaming at her. “Really?” he asks, eyes wide and bright and barely daring to hope. _Me?_

Lightning flashes through the window. Scott doesn’t flinch as thunder booms overheard, just shifts his hand to cradle the nape of her neck. Her skin tingles under his touch, like lightning crackling through his fingertips and freezing her feet to the floor. “Really,” Kira says, and pulls him in.

 

* * *

 

The thing about ice is, it melts. It is nothing more than water brought to its solid state, and when it warms enough, it melts. The rain outside is cold, probably feels freezing in the November air, but if it is raining, then it is warm enough for water to be liquid rather than solid. It is warm enough for ice to melt. Scott holds out his hand, curls it into a cup to catch the droplets. Rain pools in his hand, spills through the cracks in his fingers and drops onto his legs, pours over every inch of his body and still, still the ice doesn’t melt.

Footsteps echo through the far side of the gazebo, crackling through thin ice and slowing to a stop several feet away. Scott shoves his hands into the pockets of Derek’s jacket, hunches his head into his chest, curls himself smaller until the black leather covers as much of his body as possible. “Scott?” Kira asks quietly.

He should ask her to leave. He can’t – he can’t be around people right now, can’t try to answer any more questions or bear the weight of their stares. But as much as he wants Kira to turn around and leave him alone…he doesn’t. Kira takes another step forward, hesitant and light, and he hears himself say, “I can’t control it.”

It comes out barely more than a whisper, but Kira moves immediately. She sits down next to him, so close that her leg brushes the zipper of Derek’s jacket – but not touching him. Not quite. She looks straight ahead, not at Scott, and waits for him to speak first.

Or not, he realizes as she folds her hands neatly in her lap. She doesn’t seem awkward, or apprehensive, or anticipating anything at all. She’s just…here. Scott pulls his hands out of the jacket’s pockets, tugging the cuffs over his fingers, and slowly settles his arms on his knees. His wrist touches hers, just barely, and Kira smiles. _Thank you_ , he wants to say, but if he speaks, then she might look at him, and…he can’t.

“Sorry about the rain,” Kira says, gesturing aimlessly at the sky. “I kind of went overboard putting out the fire, and I can’t really shut it off.”

She’s still wearing her uniform, he notices belatedly. The collar is unzipped a little, and her gloves are tucked into her belt, but she hasn’t changed in the hours since they’ve returned from town. The faint scent of smoke still clings to her rain-soaked hair. “It’s gotten lighter, I think,” Scott tries, and hunches further below the jacket’s collar in case she looks his way.

She doesn’t. “Yeah,” she says, and smiles a little. “I’ve been easing up on it. It’s taking a while, though. Derek’s not going to be happy that I flooded his training courses.”

“You kidding? He’s going to be delighted. Mud obstacle course for the freshmen to struggle through.” Scott feels a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. “He’ll probably ask you to do it again when it’s time for exams.”

“Oh, man.” Kira laughs. “I can see it now. ‘Just let it rain the whole time, Kira. No, bigger raindrops. _Bigger raindrops_.’ The freshmen are going to hate me so much.”

“No one could hate you,” Scott says, knocking their shoulders together with a grin. Kira’s eyes widen at the contact, and Scott abruptly remembers the hard lines of his body and the reason he’s hiding out from the rest of the Institute. “I’m sorry!” he says quickly. “I’m so sorry, Kira, I – I forgot, I’m sorry.”

“It didn’t hurt, Scott,” Kira says. “I – you didn’t hurt me. I was just surprised, that’s all.”

He clenches his hands together. The jacket’s cuffs slip down his wrist, and he stares down at his skin, cold and colorless and frozen solid. “I hurt those kids,” he says quietly. “I – I saw the bruises on their arms where I grabbed them.”

“Because you were getting them out of a _burning building_ ,” Kira says. “Any person would’ve grabbed them hard enough to bruise when imminent death is the main concern, Scott – you know Braeden would’ve done the exact same thing if it had been her.” Her mouth twists. “Except she wouldn’t have gotten to them at all, because running into that fire would’ve definitely killed her.”

He watches Kira’s jaw clenches around the words. “I had to,” Scott says. “No one else could’ve been able to get them out-”

“ _You_ wouldn’t have been able to get to them!” Kira shouts. “Before today, you wouldn’t have…the heat alone should have killed you.”

“Well.” He shrugs awkwardly. “It didn’t.”

“And you didn’t know that when you ran into that building,” Kira says. “You ran in _knowing_ that it would kill you.”

Scott watches her hands slowly unclench. “I had to,” he repeats, quieter. “Derek was the only one who could’ve healed enough to make it, and he could barely stand after that beam crushed him.”

Kira sighs. “He would’ve gone in anyway.”

“And that definitely would’ve killed him,” Scott finishes. He spreads his hands. “I’m the ice guy. Out of everyone, I had the best chances of getting to those kids.”

“And you did,” Kira admits. “They’re doing fine, by the way. Some minor burns, but they’ll be out of the hospital soon.” She hesitates, then adds, “Lydia can arrange a visit, if you want to see them.”

He shakes his head immediately. “They don’t want to see me.”

“You saved their _life_ , Scott.”

“They were terrified of me.”

“Call me crazy, but I feel like being trapped in a burning building might have contributed to that,” Kira says. “And if a guy with super-strength and super-not-dying-in-a-fire powers saved my life, I’d probably freak out, too.”

Scott shakes his head. “No, they didn’t panic until afterwards, when they got a good look at me.”

“I mean, there is this thing called shock.”

“Kira.” He turns towards her angrily, tugging down the jacket’s collar. “ _Look_ at me!”

She meets his gaze easily. “I am,” she says. “You look like you, Scott.”

He laughs, frantic and close to a sob. “I don’t even look _human_ right now.”

“You do realize that my roommate can turn into a coyote, right?” Kira says. “Derek grows fangs and those claw things – and, you know, I really think his chest hair gets thicker when that happens, too. I swear it does. It’s weird. And Isaac can _literally_ make himself invisible.” She shrugs. “What does human even look like when it comes to us?”

She’s right, of course. She’s right, and he’s overreacting, but… “I can’t control it,” Scott says. “What if – what if I can’t turn back? What if I’m stuck like this? And it’s not just that,” he adds when Kira opens her mouth. “I can’t control _any_ of it anymore. I used to be able to – but now…” He tucks his hands together, glancing at the ice spread across the gazebo. “I shouldn’t even be out here. I’m out of control, I could hurt someone – I should be locked up in the Danger Room-”

“Scott.” Kira lays her hand on his arm. Warmth seeps through the jacket and into his skin, and he wishes that he could melt. “You have the best control out of everyone here.”

 _“Had_ ,” he corrects.

“You still do,” Kira says. “When Braeden’s powers…evolved or whatever…she blasted a football stadium to smithereens. Derek destroyed the Danger Room – not just the defense systems _in_ the Danger Room, but the room itself. And _you_ go through a total power upgrade, and you save two kids’ lives.” She lifts a sheet of ice from the gazebo steps, breaking it easily in her hands. “I’ve seen you make worse than this when you sneeze, Scott. And you had Professor Deaton grilling you and running tests for _hours_ , and you never hurt anyone or froze the medlab or anything. So if you have to relearn how control your powers, then I know you can, Scott. Because you already are.”

Scott ducks his head. Kira has always believed in him, no matter what happens, and he doesn’t know what he ever did to deserve that. He sets his hand on the gazebo steps, just barely brushing his pinky against hers. “You’re okay with a popsicle for a boyfriend?” he asks quietly.

Kira laughs, bright and easy as if Scott’s words were nothing more than a ridiculous joke. “C’mere,” she says, grabbing his hand and tugging him out onto the lawn. “Watch this.”

He glances around them. The rain has lightened to a heavy mist, landing around them in gentle drops that almost feel solid. “What?” he asks, looking back at Kira, then his jaw drops.

Snow lands in her hair, falling gently around them and quickly blanketing the grounds in white. Scott holds out his hand, laughing in delight as flakes gather in the cup of his palm. “You’re making it snow,” he says, staring at his hand in awe. He turns to Kira. “You’re making it _snow!_ ”

Kira presses her hand over his, and the snow melts away between their fingers. “A year ago, you bet me I’d be able to,” she says, beaming up at him. “You’ve always believed in me.”

He carefully winds their hands together. “I can just see how amazing you are.”

Kira tugs the jacket off him, letting it drop away into the snow. “So can I,” she says, and kisses him. Scott’s body stays as frozen as the snow falling around them, and he doesn’t know if he’ll ever be able to change back to what he was before. But as Kira pulls him in tight, arms wrapping so solid and warm around him, he feels himself melt.

 

* * *

 

The clouds part to reveal a bright blue sky. Kira smiles as the sun warms her face, then slowly drifts back to the ground. She drifts past the rooftops, waves at Mason as she passes the dorm windows, and lands near Scott.

He’s curled up in a sleeping ball on the picnic blanket, his not-quite-translucent skin sparkling in the bright sun. “It’s sunny,” he yawns, blinking confusedly up at the sky. His eyebrows lift when he sees the completely white grounds around them. “Wow. Now _that’s_ a snowfall.”

“Took me all morning; it better be,” Kira says, dusting stray snowflakes off the blanket to sit next to him. “You really didn’t have to stay out here with me; I know it got really boring.”

“The cold never bothered me anyway,” Scott intones, laughing when Kira rolls her eyes. He sits up, shifting easily from hard ice to soft skin as he unzips his bag. “And I did sneak inside about an hour ago. Thought you might be hungry when you were done.”

He hands over a thermos. Kira opens it to find hot chocolate, still steaming with half-melted marshmallows floating at the top. “You’re the best,” she says, drinking eagerly.

“And for real food,” Scott says, and pulls out a pair of wrapped sandwiches. “Fluffernutters! I had to ask Liam to show me how to make them,” he admits. “For some reason, I thought they’d be a lot more complicated than that.”

Kira bites into her sandwich with relish. “Don’t tell me you woke him up just to help you make these.”

“No, he was already up,” Scott says. “Noticed the snow coming down and decided to stay up to watch. I asked him if he wanted to come outside, but…” He shrugs, wiggling his fingers as they shift from skin to ice to skin again. “…it tends get pretty cold when everything’s frozen.”

Kira nods. “Yeah, you must’ve looked pretty weird, dashing into a snowstorm in just your uniform,” she says. “You don’t even have _gloves_.”

“I’m the ice guy; I never get cold,” Scott scoffs. “And I don’t like how regular clothes stick to me when I go full popsicle.”

“I don’t know,” Kira says teasingly, knocking her shoulder against his. “I thought you looked pretty hot that time you accidentally froze Derek’s jacket to yourself.”

“It didn’t even fit right!” Scott moans. “There were so many creases. I thought it was going to crack. Could you imagine the look on Derek’s face if I _broke_ his jacket?”

“He’d probably cry,” Kira says, nodding. “We’d have to get him, like, five more leather jackets to make him feel better. And probably design an extra-grueling training course for the freshmen.”

Scott glances around them. “Well, you did already cover the old one in, like, three feet of snow.”

“Huh?” Kira follows his gaze to the near-unrecognizable training course, so filled with snow that she can barely make out the trail markers. “Well, I mean, you can still kinda get to the bigger stuff-”

A snowball whacks the back of her head. “Hey!” Kira yelps, spinning around to find Scott with a wicked grin and a small pile of snowballs in his arms. “Oh, it is _on_.”

Scott reaches for another snowball, grin widening – then Kira gusts a wall of snow into his face. _“Hey,”_ he squawks, spluttering indignantly. “No fair!”

“All’s fair in love and snow fights,” Kira quips. They stare at each other, snow spinning through the air while ice forms along Scott’s body, then Scott quickly builds a wall around him while Kira darts for higher ground at the end of the training course.

Embarrassingly enough, it takes three snowballs to the chest and a brief contemplation of scaling a tree before she remembers that she can, in fact, fly.

“You can’t lock yourself in forever!” she shouts, hurling another blast of snow against the roof of Scott’s ice fortress. She easily avoids a snowball from the narrow window, then yelps when the next catches her in the side. “How’re you even aiming in that thing?”

Scott appears in the window just long enough to flash Kira a smirk. “That’s what you get for not paying attention in Braeden’s tactics class!”

“I’m not even in Braeden’s tactics class!”

 _“Ha!”_ Scott cackles from the depths of his makeshift fortress. Kira’s eyes narrow, lifting snow from the grounds to bury Scott, and—

“Hey guys, can I – _whoa_.”

Kira spins around to see Liam standing on the front steps, bundled up for snow and staring at them with his mouth hanging open. She glances back at Scott, peering at Liam from the top of his fortress, then – “Dibs!” they yell in unison. “I called it first!” Kira shouts. “C’mon, Liam, you’re on my team!”

“No, no, Liam, ice fortress is way better!” Scott shouts back. “With our powers combined, we can totally take her down!”

Liam glances back and forth between them, eyes wide, and then Mason bursts through the front doors and tackles Liam into the snow. “Cover me, Kira!” he yells, and darts to join her at the top of the hill while Liam spits out a mouthful of snow.

An indeterminable amount of time later, Kira has to admit that things may have gotten slightly out of hand. Half of the Institute has joined the fray, Scott’s ice fortress has grown extra walls and tunnels snaking throughout the entire training course, and the teams rapidly dissolve into everyone frantically throwing snowballs at whoever is nearby. Even Derek joins in, and is immediately buried in an onslaught of snowballs from the freshmen (and Braeden, and Boyd, and pretty much everyone in the Hale family). (And if Kira stirs up some of the snow to help the freshmen, no one has to know. Besides, she totally saw Scott making snowballs for them.)

She settles down on the hill, soaked through in melting snow while the fight dwindles down around her. Further away, Erica and Isaac make snow angels while Malia wiggles next to them in her coyote form. On the other side of the training course, Derek seems to be teaching the freshmen proper snowman construction. Scott flops down next to her, ice creaking as he leans back on his elbows. “Well,” he says, sounding more than a little winded, “that escalated quickly.”

Kira laughs. “I can’t believe the freshmen are actually listening to Derek for once,” she says, nodding at the growing army of snowmen.

“Building a snowman is serious business,” Scott says, nodding. “I’d say we should join them, but-” He cracks a yawn. “I’m all iced out for the day.”

“Well, the snow’s not going anywhere,” Kira says. “There’s plenty of time for us to make a snowman.”

Scott nods, watching the freshmen with a faint smile. “Liam doesn’t look so homesick anymore,” he says quietly. “Everyone’s having fun, actually. This was a really good idea you came up with, Kira.”

“Thanks.” She ducks her head with a grin. “His parents are visiting next week, right?”

“Yeah. Professor Deaton wants me to show them around town, for some reason.” He shifts awkwardly. “I hope they don’t hate me.”

“No one could hate you,” Kira says, knocking their shoulders together. “And Professor Deaton always asks you to show the parents around because _everyone’s_ parents love you.”

“Really?” Scott turns to face her, suddenly serious. “Your parents like me?”

“They _love_ you, Scott,” Kira promises. “Sometimes, I think my dad loves you more than he loves me.” Scott frowns, still worried, so she tucks herself under his arm. “Really, Scott, they think you’re great.” She kisses him. “And I’m sure the Dunbars will, too.”

Scott relaxes, his mouth curling into a quietly pleased smile. “Well,” he says lightly, “When Liam gets cleared for home visits, at least that’ll be Derek’s problem, not mine.” He makes a face. “Maybe Braeden. Derek’s not so good at family visits.”

“Well, actually,” Kira says. “I mean, I don’t know when it’ll happen, probably not ‘till summer, but – Professor Deaton wants me to chaperone him when he visits New York.”

“No way,” Scott says, eyes crinkling in delight. “Look at you, Kira Yukimura. One year at the Institute, and you’re already good enough to _mentor_.”

“Barely,” Kira says, shaking her head. “It’s just because we’re both from there, so I know my way around in case something happens. And actually, well…” She tucks her hair behind her ear. “Professor Deaton and I agreed that it’d be good for Liam to have a second chaperone, since our powers are so different.”

“Oh,” Scott says. His eyes widen. “You mean…”

Kira bites her lip. “I know you’ve been to New York already, when we were dealing with the Demon Wolf and all…”

“That does not count,” Scott says, shaking his head. “I saw, like, a single warehouse in New York. Because I got thrown through it.”

“…Yeah,” Kira says, grimacing at the memory. “So I was thinking, maybe this time I could show you around? And Liam, too,” she adds belatedly.

Scott beams. “You want to take me to New York?”

“Hell yeah,” Kira says, grinning. “Times Square, Central Park, everywhere you want to go. And…maybe if we have time, I could show you my old neighborhood? The school probably fixed the roof that I cracked, but, well.” She shrugs down at her shoes. “If that sounds okay.”

Scott’s hands wrap around hers, soft and warm and sending chills down her spine. “Kira,” he says, and pulls her in tight. “That sounds amazing.”

**Author's Note:**

> Superpowers:
> 
>   * Kira - weather manipulation, eventually flight (Storm, basically)
>   * Scott - freezing things, creating ice structures, eventually can freeze his entire body (Iceman, basically)
>   * Isaac - invisibility
>   * Malia - shapeshifting into a coyote
>   * Allison - telekinesis
>   * Braeden - energy blasts
>   * Derek - essentially, Wolverine
> 

> 
> Come say [hi](http://pocketlass.tumblr.com)!


End file.
